Speech: In the face of pushback against gender equality, we do not back down, we rise higher
Remarks by UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous at the 2026 commemoration of International Women’s Day, 9 March 2026, UN headquarters.
[As delivered.]
Welcome to this year’s commemoration of International Women’s Day . On your behalf, I would like to thank Michelle [Williams], for bringing her inspirational, beautiful voice to this General Assembly Hall, and for launching us so perfectly towards fearless progress. Thank you, Michelle!
International Women’s Day is a celebration, recognizing all that has been achieved across generations and nations for women’s empowerment and gender equality. It is about appreciation of the talents and energies of women and girls everywhere. Their courage, their resilience, their contributions, and their leadership.
It is about bravery and determination. About our refusal to accept a pushback against gender equality, whether in our communities, online, or in the work of these United Nations. A pushback ever more virulent and adaptable, that seeks to undo our achievements and those of feminists before us.
In its face, we do not back down. We redouble our efforts. We rise higher.
This year we focus on justice, the non-negotiable foundation of rights. Because despite the many strides forward towards equality and justice, for too many women and girls, justice is selective, inaccessible, and denied. Globally, no country meets its duty of full legal equality for women and girls.
Women’s Day is about change, joining our voices in an unwavering call for something better. This year, it is for justice systems that are financed appropriately, serve women and girls equally, and recognize the rights of survivors. Justice systems that are founded on data and evidence, that embrace the opportunities while avoiding the risks of technology, and that are supported by the formidable energies of well-funded women’s organizations and civil society.
Be in no doubt: equality is within our reach. It is close. And I believe all of us here will have the great good fortune not only to work for it, but to witness it, too.
International Women’s Day brings together a movement, a movement rich in history yet profoundly contemporary, one that looks to a future of equality. A better future and a better present, not just for women and girls, but for all humanity. A future and a present that are founded on rights, on justice, and, critically, a life free from violence, a life lived in peace. For all women and girls, everywhere.
That is what we celebrate today. It is why we inspire through action and words. Why we are unbending in the face of pressure. It is why we are.
I wish you all a happy and inspiring International Women’s Day 2026.
And I thank you.
